BUCKHANNON — Upshur County voters will head to the polls Saturday in a special election to decide whether or not to continue the existing Upshur County Schools excess levy.

Vote early at the Upshur County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All normal voting precincts will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.

The excess levy funds nearly 10 percent of Upshur County Schools operating budget and has been in place for 19 years.

Upshur County Board of Education members voted previously to keep the levy rate the same for proposed renewal of the excess levy.

Superintendent Dr. Sara Stankus said, “I just want to thank the community for their continued support. We have had a levy in effect since 1999 — almost 20 years. Our community has always supported the children of Upshur County and I want to say thank you for doing that.”

Stankus said it is important to note that there are no tax increases with this levy because the board of education voted to keep the levy rate the same for the proposed renewal.

“It’s just a continuation of the existing levy,” she said. “We have the third lowest levy tax in the state.”

Although the rate is staying the same, there are some new additions to what the proposed levy will be used for.

Building on the popularity of the senior pass for school events that allows those age 60 and older to pick up a pass at the board of education office to get into school events for free, the board agreed to add veterans and active military personnel to the list of community members who can attend for free.

“They will be getting in free in addition to our seniors and our students,” she said.

With more of a focus on school safety, the board also designated a portion of the levy to go to school safety improvements.

Funding for the Prevention Resource Officers also comes out of the levy.

The money is used at all schools in the county and also allows each teacher to receive $200 for supplies for their classrooms. Levy funding supports improving and updating school libraries, facility and equipment maintenance, art, music and athletic programs and instructional and technology tools for 21st century curriculum and instruction.

“All levy dollars will stay in our county,” Stankus said. “They do not go to Charleston.”

Dr. Raymond Leonard and his wife, Kenna, have two children in the Upshur County Schools system and see the advantages of having the levy continue.

Kenna Leonard said, “The levy is important because the kids are the future of our community. They are going to be our future doctors, lawyers, construction workers and hopefully plumbers. This helps with the education they need and getting the extras in the school that not every school in the county can provide.”

As a reminder, the homestead exemption applies to taxpayers 65 years old and above. For more information about the levy, visit www.upshurschools.com and click on the Levy tab at the top.